Volume 3, Issue 1

January, 2013

MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY

RESOURCE CENTER

Teacher, Mentor Extends “The Helping Hand”

MCRC noticias

Coming Events

Every Wednesday 6 to 7pm –coupon exchange – Horan Apts

Every Monday & Wednesday 5 to 6:30pm – Karate – CEC

Nepali Parenting Edu – Fridays 10-12

Feb 2—Hypertension Ed. 12-1

Feb 9—Diabetes Ed. 12-1

Feb 16—Pharmacy & Prescription Ed. 12-1

Feb 18 – MCRC closed

Feb 19,20,21 ESL new student orientation

o

Imad Diab is a man devoted to helping others with great needs.

A native of Baghdad, Iraq, Imad arrived in

the U.S. in 2008. He says, ”My family and I

came to the U.S. to live in freedom and to

enjoy respect as human beings. Since 2003,

all of us everywhere have been living in a

very critical and sad time. The worst is to

feel you are not safe; and in Iraq, every day

we lived with that feeling.”

With degrees in Petroleum and Chemical

Engineering, Imad worked in the Iraqi oil

fields for twenty years. Then in 2003, he

began studies at Cambridge University in

England and completed a degree in foreign

languages.

Since arriving in the U.S., Imad has worked

as a Case Manager and Life Skills instructor

at MCRC and has joined the adjunct faculty

at Mercyhurst University to teach Middle

Eastern Culture and Arabic language. He may be expanding his faculty assignment to teach

French as well.

While he has had opportunities to return to a lucrative engineering career in the Mexican Gulf

oil fields for a U.S. company, Imad has chosen to remain in Erie to be close to his family. He

says it is better to be close and happy with family than to be separated and unhappy with mon-

ey. In addition, he holds great value in being able to help and support other newcomers to the

U.S. through his teaching and case management duties.

“Teaching in America has provided many opportunities to help and support others as they ad-

just to American life,” he says, “In my native culture, our Holy Koran teaches us that to give is

better than to take.” Then, illustrating with his hands, Imad emphasized that his philosophy is

that the high hand is to give: the low hand, to take. “When others have greater needs,” he

says, “they reach to the helping hand (the high hand) that reaches out to them.”

This is what Imad Diab has found to be most satisfying. In his work at MCRC, at Mercyhurst, and

in his personal involvements, he freely gives the helping hand and encouraging voice. “I teach

mercyhurst students as well as newcomers to America not to wait for opportunity, but to look

for it, strive for it, and be positive,” he says. Cont’d

Multicultural Community

Resource Center of Erie

James Globa, Board President

Joel Tuzynski,, Executive Director

MCRC Noticias Editorial Team:

Joanna Cherpak, Assoc. Dir. - Operations

Allan Turner, PhD, Assoc. Dir. - Programs

Trish Lawrence, Section Mgr.- CEC

Al Richards, Editor

554 East 10th St., Erie, PA 16503

Ph: 814.455.0212 FAX: 814.453.2363

Email: MCRC@multiculturalcrc.org

P A G E 2 M C R C N O T I C I A S

Teacher, Mentor . . .Cont’d from page 1 . . .

“My wife Aliaa has a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and when she completes her current university studies, she will be licensed as

a clinical mental health counselor. My son, Moustafa attends Jefferson elementary school. It is important that he be bilingual so

that he will be able to help other new American children remember to keep their native culture and language as they continue to

live here. This second page of our lives, will tell how we have been able to help others.“

Reflecting about cultural, social, and political differences throughout the world, Imad emphasizes how important it is for all of us to

find ways to seek tolerance and appreciate our differences. “We must learn to appreciate each other and support each other. And

it must start with each individual person,” he says. “If you drop a small stone into a pool of water, it stirs the water, it changes the

water around it by sending out ripples of its influence. The same can be true for each individual. If you know where you live and

respect the place you live in, you will not have problems. You draw respect from others by the way you behave and the morals

you keep.”

‘You know,” says Imad, ‘cultural basics are the same for everyone. We love, we laugh, we eat, we sometimes don’t get along with

the in-laws. It’s the same everywhere —even banks are the same.”

MCRC has recently had the opportunity to work with over 12 refugees from Bhutan who all suffer from various hear-ing disorders. In response to the unique challenges this group presents, MCRC has begun offering a class on Ameri-can Sign Language. This program is housed in the Cultural Enrichment Center and runs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Through the help of two volunteers, Karen Penna and Rita Belousov, MCRC has successfully recruited a number of individuals from the local deaf and hearing impaired community of Erie to help. Today we are happy to

announce this program is facilitated 100% through the support of these individuals. Because of their hard work and dedication, our hearing impaired clients are beginning to learn how to communicate in their new community and

develop relationships that will last a life time.

Hearing Impaired Clients Learn American Sign Language

MCRC extends deepest thanks to Erie Insurance Exchange for the generous financial gift in the amount of $5,000 during our

Holiday Appeal. The funds will go toward purchasing supplies for the Health and Wellness Center. Our after school program

children created a Thank You banner to present to The Erie.

Erie Insurance Supports Community Wellness Initiative

at Multicultural Center

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1

The Latino Services Department at MCRC is still active despite the challenges that we have faced with the decrease in program funding over the past few years. Our staff are here to assist the Hispanic community in various ways. We offer programs in Aging Case Management, Drug and Alcohol Support Services, Latino Student Support (East High School), and Truancy Prevention. The Aging Case Management program provides specific services to the Latino senior population aged 60 years and older. As the senior population continues to grow, due to the baby- boomer era, so does their need for assistance. Case managers, Isela Abreu-Arce and Jennifer Torres-Del Valle will continue to expand this program to provide the services needed for our clients. MCRC’s Drug and Alcohol program assists Spanish-speaking individuals and their families who have or are attempting to over-come drug or alcohol related problems. We are currently assisting those clients with case management services and referrals to other agencies. We have drug and alcohol program group meetings for Spanish speakers every Friday at 1:00 pm; the meetings are open to individuals and family members who might like to attend. The Prevention Specialist is Sarita Bonifacio. The Latino Student Support program is located at East High School where we have a school-based Spanish-speaking coordinator to help the Latino student’s attending 9

th-12

th grade and their parents. In this role, Karlina Vargas is the liaison between the par-

ents and teachers. She makes sure that students are assisted and that they are meeting their requirements for graduation. The staff at MCRC held a Career Development Fair on January 18, 2013 for the Latino High School students in grades 9 to 12. In time, we will develop more activities to help support our students. The Truancy Prevention program is a new program at MCRC. This program reaches out to the Latino families with children who are at risk for truancy in the Erie School District. We have two Case Managers that are bilingual in Spanish/English. Edwin Hernan-dez and Karlina Vargas are working with the students, families, and the schools by providing interventions designed to help pre-vent truancy. We will continue to look for funding to assist our youth in becoming community leaders and successful individuals in our community. The Center has opened a wellness clinic to provide screenings, activities and education regarding health and healthy living. We will produce and sponsor coming events in Spanish to assist our Spanish speaking clients. Many of our Latino clients have numer-ous health-related problems and take a lot of medication. Our goal is to provide education and activities that lead to a health and well-being. The Free Erie Taxes are being offered at the John E. Horan Garden Apartments’ Learning Center at 730 Tacoma Road. Eddie Ocasio will be assisting the Spanish-speaking residents of the City of Erie Housing Authority with their taxes. Eddie is also our Em-ployment Specialist and helps the Latino residents prepare resumes, and find employment. In January, annual Rent Rebate booklets will be mailed out. Latino Services will continue to provide the services to help complete the forms for a small fee of $5.00. We will select certain days of the week to provide help to complete these forms, by appointment only. MCRC is delighted to continue to serve the Latino Community. We have new staff on board and are dedicated to make a differ-ence in helping the Hispanic population. We will continue to search for new funding and develop new programs to assist the needs of our clients. Our goal is to improve the quality of service and our professionalism within our agency for the community.

Latino Services Thrive Despite Funding Challenges

The Multicultural Community Resource Center organized and hosted a Career Development Fair on January 18, 2013 for the Latino and Refugee High School students (9

th

-12Th

grades). Participants at this event were representa-tives from several institutions such as LECOM, Edinboro

University, Penn State/Behrend, U.S. Armed Forces, and Fortis Institute to provide information regarding their pro-grams. Our agency serves the Latino, immigrant, and refu-gee populations, and this is our first event devoted to edu-cating and informing the youth of these communities about meaningful options available to them after high

school.

MCRC’s Latino Services Hosts

HS Student Career Fair

554 East 10th Street Erie, PA 16503

Phone: 814-455-0212 Fax: 814-453-2363 Web: www.multiculturalcrc.org

MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER

Proudly serving the needs of the Hispanic and refugee communities since 1975.

Your Donation

is Appreciated

To make a financial gift to MCRC,

send it to Joanna Cherpak, Assoc,

Director, 554 East 10th St., Erie, PA

16503 or donate online at

www.multiculturalcrc.org.

MCRC is a 501 ( c)(3) charity and all

donations are tax deductible.

Save the Date . . . April 20, 2013

MCRC Roll for Diversity Bowling Tournament.

Start recruiting your team today!

mailto:www.multiculturalcrc.org